NIGDE, Turkey
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has lashed out at pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party leader Selahattin Demirtas for comparing Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square to Islam's most sacred monument, the Kaaba in Mecca.
"We will never allow attributing an equivalent to the Kaaba, no matter which faith you are of," Davutoglu said Thursday during an election rally of his Justice and Development Party in Turkey’s central Nigde province.
He was referring to Demirtas' remarks made during a commemoration ceremony in Taksim Square on Wednesday, where he said: "Taksim is as indispensable for workers as the Kaaba for Muslims and Jerusalem for Jews."
Taksim Square remained closed to May 1 Labor Day demonstrations between 1977 and 2010. Since 2013, union activists have again been barred from marching to the public square.
The site has symbolic status for trade unionists and labor activists. Unions have said that a ban on gathering at the iconic site contravenes both the Turkish constitution and European human rights legislation on freedom of assembly.
Turkish officials said the site has been closed to such gatherings and proposed other public squares for the rally.
Davutoglu emphasized the meaning and sanctity of Kaaba for Turkish nation, saying: "We will allow no disrespect towards our sacred values."
The premier also accused Demirtas for inconsistency by nominating a mufti in Turkey's eastern region for the country’s upcoming general election but making remarks “disrespectful” of Muslim values in the country's west.
